FPGA-Based Prototyping Methodology Manual

Best practices in Design-for-Prototyping

The FPGA-Based Prototyping Methodology Manual: Best practices in Design-for-Prototyping (FPMM) is a comprehensive and practical guide to using FPGAs as a platform for SoC development and verification. The manual is organized into chapters which are roughly in the same order as the tasks and decisions which are performed during an FPGA-based prototyping project. The manual can be read start-to-finish or, since the chapters are designed to stand alone, you can start reading at any point that is of current interest to you.

You can download a free FPMM eBook in English or Japanese by using either your SolvNet ID or email address.

If you would like a printed copy, you can purchase the FPMM at Amazon.com, Synopsys Press, or you can order a copy through any bookstore.

"The main lesson of the FPGA-based prototyping methodology manual might be to tackle complexity one step at a time but make sure that each step is in the right direction and not into a dead end. When starting an FPGA-based prototyping project, our success will come from a combination of preparation and effort; the more we have of the former, the less we should need of the latter." ---- Doug Amos, Austin Lesea, René Richter

The authors of the FPGA-Based Prototyping Methodology Manual (FPMM) are all experts in prototyping SoC designs using FPGAs and believe that FPGA-based prototyping is of such crucial benefit to today’s SoC and embedded software projects that they are compelled to do all they can to ensure your success. In the manual they share what they refer to as "The three laws of prototyping" which govern most, if not all, prototyping projects.

This methodology manual provides information on how these three laws of prototyping can be broken or overcome by using automation and a design-for-prototyping methodology; if the procedural and design guidelines of design-for-prototyping can be integrated within the whole SoC project, then software quality and project schedules will be improved. This manual is a must-read for anyone designing, or getting ready to design, an SoC. Download your copy now.

Check out our blog Breaking the Three Laws . This blog is dedicated to discussing technically challenging ASIC prototyping problems and sharing solutions.

Doug Amos, Synopsys, Inc.Doug gained an honors degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Bath, England in 1980. He did his first programmable logic design in the mid-80’s, when FPGAs were still called Logic Cell Arrays. Since then, Doug has designed or supported countless FPGA and ASIC designs either as an independent consultant or working with the leading vendors. Doug became Synplicity’s first engineer and Technical Director in Europe (Synplicity was acquired by Synopsys in 2008) and has presented widely on FPGA design and FPGA-based prototyping since that time.

Austin Lesea, Xilinx, Inc.Austin graduated from UC Berkeley in 1974 and 1975 with his BS EECS in Electromagnetic (E&M) Theory and MS EECS in Communications and Information Theory. He has worked in the telecommunications field for 20 years designing optical, microwave, and copper- based transmission systems. He developed SONET/SDH GPS-based Timing Systems for 12 of those years. For the last ten years at Xilinx, Austin was in the IC Design department for the Virtex product line. His new role is working for Xilinx Research Labs, where he is looking beyond the present technology issues.

René Richter, Synopsys, Inc.René holds an MSEE degree, the Dipl.-Ing. der Elektrotechnik, from the Chemnitz University of Technology in Germany in 1999. He has worked 11 years in the area of FPGA-based Prototyping, first at ISYTEC, then Pro Design and now at Synopsys; each transition as a result of an acquisition. René managed the development of the CHIPit hardware platforms before moving on to become Director of Applications. During this time he developed co-simulation interfaces and prototyping hardware and has implemented many ASIC designs in FPGA. René has also developed prototyping concepts and solutions for customers and he is one of the inventors of the UMRBus and CHIPit product line.

"The modular nature of the Synopsys HAPS systems coupled with our Design-for-Prototyping approach has allowed LSI Corporation to do pre-silicon development on multiple SoC projects so far. If you are looking to benefit from FPGA-Based Prototyping then the FPMM is a great place to start, for management and engineers alike. Even experienced prototypers will find the FPMM a source of inspiration and guidance. I wish we’d had this when we started!" Brian Nowak, Senior Integration EngineerLSI Corporation

"At NVIDIA we have benefited from FPGA-Based Prototyping for over a decade. In all cases we have been able to validate functionality and exercise software months in advance of the first silicon being available. The FPMM book and accompanying online community will educate our industry in the methodology of prototyping and share the latest techniques in implementation and leading edge technologies. I recommend the FPMM to anybody considering prototyping as a validation vehicle for developing silicon products."Fernando Martinez, Engineer, Mobile R&DNVIDIA Corporation

"FPGAs provide a platform for SoC development and verification unlike any other and their greatest value is in their unique ability to provide a fast and accurate model of the SoC in order to allow pre-silicon validation of the embedded software."Helena Krupnova, Prototyping Project Leader STMicroelectronics

"Synopsys has a long history of publishing methodology manuals that have been widely used by designers to help them be more productive. The collaboration between Synopsys and Xilinx, with contributions by noted industry leaders in prototyping, has made it possible to capture best practices in the FPMM. This has paved the way for other users to learn from this experience and help speed system validation."John Chilton, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Strategic Development Synopsys

"The FPMM will be an invaluable resource to ASIC designers and prototypers because it is the industry’s first attempt to collect in one volume information to outline the challenges and solutions for successfully prototyping ASIC designs in FPGA hardware. Xilinx Virtex® FPGA devices have been extensively used for ASIC prototyping because of their high logic capacity, and we expect that trend will continue with the delivery of 2 million logic clement devices in our 28nm Virtex-7 family."Vincent Ratford, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing and Business Development Xilinx

Download: You can download a free FPMM eBook in English or Japanese by using either your SolvNet ID or email address.

Purchase: If you would like a printed copy, you can purchase the FPMM at Amazon.com, Synopsys Press, or you can order a copy through any bookstore.